LeaseWeb Acquires Germany’s netdirekt

Dutch hosting provider LeaseWeb will acquire Frankfurt-based netdirekt in a deal that marks its expansion into Germany, Austria and Switzerland. LeaseWeb cited the strategic importance of Frankfurt’s internet exchange, which is among the key connectivity hubs in Europe, alongside Amsterdam and London.

The acquisition of netdirekt means that German-speaking customers now have local access to LeaseWeb services, including support in their own language from data centers in Frankfurt and Wuppertal. Wiethold Wagner, former owner and managing director of netdirekt, will take over as managing director of the new LeaseWeb in Germany.

Germany is home to some of Europe’s largest hosting providers, including 1&1 Internet, Hetzner and PlusServer. “Competition in the German Web Hosting market is certainly one of the most toughly contested globally and is about to go through a marked period of consolidation,” said Wagner. “This makes the move from LeaseWeb even more of an accolade for us in that it demonstrates the potential seen in netdirekt. Both LeaseWeb and netdirekt have always relied on close customer proximity as the basis of their business success. We will stick to this strategy in future to ensure we meet the needs of our customers as well as fueling further growth and market share.”

“This step represents a significant milestone for us and our priority for 2011 will be the successful integration of netdirekt into LeaseWeb and to create new job opportunities in addition to retaining all current netdirekt employees,” said Ivo Roomer, manager of M&A integration for LeaseWeb. “Thanks to our international focus and local presence, customers will be able to benefit from the provision of secure and top quality hosting services from LeaseWeb with direct regional support.”

As part of LeaseWeb’s ongoing international strategy, the company will also open a U.S. data center at the Power Loft facility in Manassas, Va. in early 2011.

About the Author

Rich Miller is the founder and editor at large of Data Center Knowledge, and has been reporting on the data center sector since 2000. He has tracked the growing impact of high-density computing on the power and cooling of data centers, and the resulting push for improved energy efficiency in these facilities.

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